


Sweet, sweet victory.

by Coloured_Rainbow



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: ...haha fluff but also angst, Doctor Strange - Freeform, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, If youre here for ironstrange, Intense Kissing, Iron Man - Freeform, IronStrange, M/M, More angst, but nothing too intense, double fooled, fix-it AU, it gets sorta steamy, just know that tony and pepper arent just disregarded, maybe PG-13, pinning, slight grinding...?, they save the world but not everything's so happy..., you were fooled
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-11-28
Packaged: 2019-07-27 14:04:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16220603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coloured_Rainbow/pseuds/Coloured_Rainbow
Summary: “I don’t--” Tony let out a single chuckle. “--I don’t need to ‘collect’ myself. I’m fine.”“...Stark, what happened was--”“You may be a time wizard that can travel dimensions, but I know for a fact you can’t read minds… probably.” Tony pressed his fingers into his temples, gently massaging them. “I’m fine. I have ways for dealing with things. All I need is a good night’s sleep and I’ll be good as knew.”--Weird AU (I'm sure has been written but I don't read a lot of Marvel fanfic) where Starlord wasn't a pleb and everyone managed to take the gauntlet off of Thanos and kill him. It's a few months later and Tony is doing his best to deal with the aftermath of the whole experience :')





	1. Tony was never the best at making decisions

**Author's Note:**

> ...Never written a Marvel character before this ;-; hopefully it's not too much of a mess

Taking in a shaky breath, Tony ran his hands through his neat hair as he leaned his elbows on the kitchen counter in front of him. Finally, after hours of interviews, he was able to come home and have a solid hour of downtime before he needed to go to sleep. He thought that saving the world would bring him more peace, but he’s been more stressed lately than ever. Him and Pepper have had a hard time getting along after Tony left the planet despite her persistent requests. No matter how many times he apologized, it would be a long time before she could begin to trust him again, let alone look him in the eyes. 

Rubbing his temples, he let out an distressed groan. He was really sick and tired of people trying to destroy half of the universe’s population, and even more so being the one that had to stop those people. All he wanted was to stay home and fiddle with an engine or something.

“Stark.”

Letting out a small shout, Tony nearly fell out of his chair at the sound of a deep voice behind him. Twisting his upper body to look back, he glared. “Thanks. You sneaking up like that really calms the nerves.”

Turning back around, Tony kept his eyes downward as an uninvited Stephen Strange walked over to stand beside him. “I tend to have that effect on people.” He spoke softly, his monotone voice making the vague idea of a joke sound less ironic than most likely intended. Tony couldn’t blame him for not being too enthusiastic.

“...So,” Tony started after an extended silence, trying his best to loosen his expression as he passed back a polite quip. “What brings you to the Stark household?”

“More like what brings _you_ here.” Stephen mumbled through his teeth while somehow still carefully articulating each word. “I have yet to see a day go by without another interview featuring Tony Stark. I see you at every corner out there, I would think you never even come home.”

“Someone has to be there to tell the public that everything’s alright,” Tony shrugged like the concept was obvious. “Cap’s too busy trimming his beard, no one knows that Spider-Man’s a 15 year old kid, Hulk has his own issues to deal with, Thor is… wherever the hell he is. Someone has to be there to tell them that it’s going to be okay--that no, the world hasn’t ended.”

Stephen paused. “Stark. I know well the importance of keeping the people happy, but you need to look after yourself. There are other heroes out there who will gladly take your place while you collect yourself.”

“I don’t--” Tony let out a single chuckle. “--I don’t need to ‘collect’ myself. I’m fine.”

“...Stark, what happened was--”

“You may be a time wizard that can travel dimensions, but I know for a fact you can’t read minds… probably.” Tony pressed his fingers into his temples, gently massaging them. “I’m fine. I have ways for dealing with things. All I need is a good night’s sleep and I’ll be good as knew.”

“You’re stressed. I know what can happen when you overextend yourself--”

“Why do you even care?” Tony whined, burying his face in his hands. “I’m sure you have a lot of important business to get to. I’ll figure my own shit out as long as you just give me some goddamn space!”

In the quiet seconds that followed, Tony closed his eyes and pressed his palms against them, sucking in sharp, slow breaths. He had barely managed to level his breathing when he felt a sturdy set of hands suddenly grip his shoulders. Tony flinched and let out a small gasp, quickly removing his hands from his face as he prepared to get either forced out of his seat or propelled through a portal into the Ether, but stopped dead at the feeling of pleasant pressure being applied to his shoulder muscles. 

Slowly relaxing, Tony didn’t resist as Stephen gently massaged his back with his fingertips, the natural shake of his hands making the situation feel unnecessarily personal. Leaning back into his touch, Tony closed his eyes again, running his tongue over his front teeth. “You know, doc, I never really got the details of your backstory. How does one become a time-wielding warlock?”

“...I got into a car crash.” His sudden, serious response made Tony lower himself slightly. “I was a surgeon and… an idiot who thought I was better than everybody. And I was. Until I severed every nerve in both my hands and couldn’t use them anymore. Couldn’t operate, let alone write my own name.” Tony kept his eyes closed as he intently listened to his words, now taking much closer notice to Stephen’s trembling. “I worked so hard that I lost the people I cared about the most. I just… didn’t know when to quit.” Tony could feel his face twist with sympathy. “But. I pulled through. I made efforts to better myself and really help other people for once.”

After a good minute of not responding, he cleared his throat. “That’s, uh…” He trailed off, punctuating his unfinished sentence with a soft breath as Stephen’s hands trailed down, squeezing along the sides of his spine. “That’s definitely a story worthy of such a powerful wizard.” 

“...Yes, I’d like to think I’ve come a long way.”

“You deserve it, man, you do.” Tony’s sentence died at the end as Stephen pressed his thumbs deep into the skin of his lower back. 

“You deserve closure too, Tony.” Hearing Stephen say his first name flicked a switch in Tony’s mind. He opened his eyes and became suddenly aware of the doctor’s hands around his waist and the way his back arched at his touch and the warm feeling gathering between his legs. Letting out a choked noise, Tony stood up and removed himself from Stephen’s hold, not turning around as to keep his flushed face out of sight. 

“I know,” Tony said quickly. “I’ll hold back on the interviews, alright?”

“...Good.” Tony wasn’t sure whether to be comforted by the calmness in Stephen’s voice. “I’ll make sure someone is there to be interviewed if it gives you peace of mind.”

“Right, right…” Tony mumbled. “Now you can… go back to your wizard business or whatever you do--protect that necklace.”

Another long pause. 

“I can stay awhile.” Tony felt himself stiffen up at Stephen’s words, practically able to hear the small smirk that rested on his lips. “My wizard business will be there when I decide to go back.”

“I-I don’t…” Tony shook his head, leaning against the counter. “That isn’t necessary. I’m fine, doc--but thanks for the diagnosis, I’ll be sure to mention it at my next appointment.” Expecting a response to his half-hearted joke, he stood still in the following silence. After a few seconds, he was so sure that Stephen teleported away that he quickly swiveled around on his heel to confirm he was alone. Turning around, he was met so close with Stephen’s chest that he jumped in surprise, knocking into the kitchen chair between them. Hunched over and gripping the back of the chair, his face merely an inch from bumping into Stephen, Tony kept his eyes down as he recomposed himself. He stood back up straight, his gaze transfixed on his glowing necklace for lack of better place to direct it. 

Tony could feel Stephen’s gaze on his face, reluctantly making it flush a brighter red. Whether it was out of embarrassment or arousal, Tony didn’t know, and much to his dismay and confusion, the line between the two was becoming blurrier by the second. 

“My, my,” Stephen slowly stated, shifting his weight to his right foot. He sounded confused and mildly intrigued. “...Tony?”

Tony quickly looked up at Stephen, trying his best to act natural. “What’s up--about me tripping over this chair here? I just--see, I thought you wooshed away like you usually do and I didn’t think you would be right there… if I…” Tony trailed off, watching closely as the doctor slowly leaned down to Tony’s height. “Uhm, I just didn’t…” His words died before he could find them, and so he found himself quietly looking into Stephen’s blue-hazel eyes.

“And for once, the mechanic was speechless,” Stephen quietly narrated with a smirk, not breaking eye contact with Tony as he slowly slid the chair to the side, allowing him to lean in even closer. 

There was a deafening moment of hesitation where Tony felt like he was eating his own heartbeat, but it was over as soon as it started when Stephen closed the gap between their mouths. Tony saw it coming but didn’t anticipate the instant warmth that traveled down his throat and through his veins as the doctor kissed him intently, sliding his hands onto his waist. Tony couldn’t help but instinctively bury a hand in Stephen’s hair, carelessly ruffling it out of its shape. He sucked in a breath and let the doctor touch him, pull him closer, press their waists together. He sloppily parted his lips in response to Stephen deepening the kiss, steadying himself against the kitchen counter as his leg was lifted by Stephen’s side so that the doctor could slightly lift him up so that Tony was standing on nothing but the tips of his toes.

For a long time it was quiet save for their heavy breathing, but it wasn't long before Tony let out a deep, pleasantly surprised yelp as the doctor took advantage of his vulnerable position and pressed up against his crotch. Tony swallowed, his fingernails slightly digging into Stephen’s neck they kissed each other harder.

Stephen pushed himself closer against Tony when he started squirming with obvious overflowing arousal and the desire to move things forward.

It wasn't until Tony felt Stephen’s hand drop below his belt line that he let out a firm, demanding “Pepper.” Stephen froze, opening his eyes to be greeting with a worried expression on Tony's face. “I can't do this. I can't do this to her.” When Stephen didn’t reply, Tony continued. “We haven't talked in a while, but we never really broke up… Sh-She’s mad-- _I’m mad_ \--but I… but I still love her, I can't do this.”

A few seconds passed before Stephen quickly pulled back, straightening his back.

“...Look, doc, I--”

“I apologize.” He stated, cutting Tony off short. There was genuine embarrassment and sadness plastered on his face that made Tony wince. “That was… completely inappropriate and unprofessional of me.”

“Hey, it's fine, I--”

“No,” he interrupted again. “That was… a grave mistake. You have a loving significant other who you are happy with and it was never my place to get between that.” Stephen nodded to himself. “I repent again for my rudeness. It won't happen again.”

“Uhm. Uh. Okay… Okay.” Tony nodded back, both to himself and Stephen. “Okay. I just… wow, that was not where I thought we were… okay, uhm, I’m not sure exactly where to go after this? So if you have any ideas--”

“I’ll let myself out,” Stephen quickly added. “I… I hope you feel better soon, Stark.”

“...You too, Stephen.”

There were a few beats of stillness before, with a flick of his wrist, Stephen vanished, leaving Tony alone again.


	2. Bound, bound, bound and rebound.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Why do you sometimes call me Stark and other times Tony?” He asked suddenly. "Feel like I’m talking to a student or something.”
> 
> “...Calling you ‘Tony’ feels a bit too comfortable.”
> 
> He could hear Tony quietly snicker to himself, his words laced with a silliness that anyone would be a fool to not think it cute. “Say my name again, I like it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ask and ye shall receive :')  
> So many people liked this and I found the perfect song that goes along to it so... tada, there's going to be 3 chapters. I have really bad habit of starting too many stories at once ;-; but this is a smaller one, so it should be finished soon  
> Thank you guys do much for the support :) I have more Marvel stuff planned for the future!!
> 
> EDIT!!!!  
> When I started this, I had not watched Civil War yet! :( I'm watching it right now and I guess Tony and Pepper broke up idk, so sorry if anything is wrong with the timeline :P This is an au, so it's not a big deal, I suppose...

Taking a deep breath, Stephen glared as his phone woke him from his slumber by emitting a strange twinkling noise that he didn’t know why he hadn’t changed from his ringer yet. He blinked his eyes open and rolled to the side, picking up his phone and turning it over to read the words: Incoming Call--Stark. Softly swallowing, he suddenly felt much more awake. Him and Tony haven’t talked once in the weeks that passed since what happened, so he would imagine that Tony wouldn’t call him at one in the morning if it weren’t important.

After a few seconds of letting it ring, Stephen got annoyed with the twinkling and finally picked up, clearing his throat. “...Hello?” He tried to shake the tiredness out of his voice, but winced when he heard himself speak in a low rasp. 

“Hey, whoa, uh, haha,” Tony sounded caught off guard, his own voice just as torn as Stephen’s. “Sup doc, didn’t think you’d answer… had a whole, uh, voicemail planned out and everything.”

“What’s wrong?” Stephen sighed and rubbed his eyes, trying his best not to let his drowsiness make him sound inconvenienced. 

“Ah, well… I--I don’t exactly know, that’s the weird thing.” He could practically see Tony’s expression, him shrugging as he scratched the back of his head, keeping his eyes on the floor. 

“Well.” Stephen threw the covers off of himself, sat up, and tossed his legs over the side of his bed all in one swift motion. “I’m already up with nowhere to be for hours, so take your time.”

Tony hesitated. “I-I’m sorry. It’s late, I’ll call ya back tomorrow and we can talk in the morning.”

“Stark, it’s fine,” Stephen yawned.

“I, uh…” He paused, letting out a small chuckle. “Think I had one too many drinks. This was a bad idea.”

“Stark, you can talk to me.”

“Why do you sometimes call me Stark and other times Tony?” He asked suddenly. 

“...What?”

“I dunno. Y’know, only, like, angry principals call people by their last names. I know we don’t… we don’t know each other all that well, only a couple months now, but… I’d consider us friends.” Stephen softly smirked at Tony’s joking tone. “Pretty good ones, by now. So what’s with the whole ‘Hello Mr. Stark’ thing you got going on? Feel like I’m talking to a student or something.”

“...Calling you ‘Tony’ feels a bit too comfortable.”

He could hear Tony quietly snicker to himself, his words laced with a silliness that anyone would be a fool to not think it cute. “Say my name again, I like it.”

Stephen slightly frowned. “Not to mention unprofessional,” he continued. 

“Is that all I am to you?” Tony asked a bit more seriously. “A coworker?”

“I don’t know what you are to me,” Stephen said honestly. 

There was a long pause. “I called because I missed you,” Tony stated, quick and soft. “I was hoping we could get together and talk.”

Stephen glared in thought. “...This heavy conflicts with the last conversation we had.” After a few seconds of no reply, Stephen’s expression softened. “Why’d you really call?”

No reply. 

“Tony.”

Tony sadly laughed. “I like when you say my name.”

“...Tony, look, I--”

“Pepper left me.”

Stephen flinched when Tony interrupted him. 

“Not because of you,” he consoled. “She… She doesn’t know about what happened.” A beat of silence. “I left her first, I guess. Well, I went to space to fight a god to the death and I almost didn’t make it back. She hated my work enough when it was here on Earth, so…. so me taking the fight to space was the final straw.”

“...How long ago was this?” Was all Stephen could manage to say.

“About two weeks.” He chuckled. “I thought she was just mad and went to blow of steam, but uh… but she was serious. She moved out.”

“...I…” Stephen hung his head, examining his hands. “I know the feeling. Dealing with consequences is never easy. Especially when it drives people away.”

“It’s easier with you around.”

“Tony.”

“I know, I know. I’m emotional and going through a lot and maybe it’s not fair, I know it isn’t to you, but I like having you around.” There was a small crack to Tony’s voice that made Stephen wince. “I want you here. I know it’s selfish, but it’s true.”

Stephen rolled his tongue around in his mouth, thinking back to how warm Tony’s body was and how great he tasted. “...I don’t know. I don’t think it’s right.”

“But it feels amazing.”

“The worst things in this world can bring so much pleasure.”

“...Think about it.” Tony sniffed, catching himself before he accidently let out a sob. “You know where to find me if you change your mind.”

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

It was cold outside already with it still being the middle of the night, but especially because Stephen decided on more casual wear. He felt naked leaving the house without his cape and hero outfit, but wearing that attire felt inappropriate to the situation.

 _...Plus, just a shirt and pants were much easier and quicker to remove_ , Stephen mentally added with embarrassment as he nervously shuffled back and forth.

Just a few seconds after knocking, Tony answered the door. His hair was disheveled and pointing in every direction and his facial hair was unkempt and uneven. He wore nothing but a baggy grey short sleeve and black sweatpants, but that was just the kind of outfit that gave Stephen pleasant, anxious butterflies in his stomach.

Tony smiled a tired, goofy grin, his eyes glinting in the moonlight. “...Hey, Stephen.”

“...Hey, Anthony.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like my stories? Bug me [Tumblr](https://www.angstflavoured.tumblr.com), you fool.


	3. Late night talk.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Stephen first stopped by just after everything started to settle, it had been the same as when Peter, Happy, and (most of) the Avengers all individually stopped by. Tony told them that he was fine, offered them a drink--a juice box in Peter’s case--and sent them on their way. None of them had questioned Tony or offered further comfort.  
> But Stephen had stayed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I'm the fucking worst..  
> Not only do I have too many stories to work on and finish already, but I added more chapters to this again... idk how many it will end up having. I just keep getting more ideas. Sorry, I'm super bad with updating and time management.  
> Also, I was r e a l l y tired when I looked this over, so hopefully it makes as much sense as I think it does... let me know what you think! :'l

Tony would consider himself a capable person. Even after fighting wars and enduring torture, he’s always been able to bounce back even stronger than before and tackle problem after problem hard and head on. For some reason he couldn’t pinpoint, he couldn’t do that this time. They defeated Thanos and, after subduing the rest of his army, were able to return to Earth to fight villains on a much smaller, more reasonable scale. The only ongoing battle at the moment should be fighting off the press for a moment of peace, but Tony found himself unable to sleep at night. He was constantly jumping at every noise and avoiding talking to the Avengers despite their constant attempts to reach out to him. Everything felt different now.

When Stephen first stopped by just after everything started to settle, it had been the same as when Peter, Happy, and (most of) the Avengers all individually stopped by. Tony told them that he was fine, offered them a drink--a juice box in Peter’s case--and sent them on their way. None of them had questioned Tony or offered further comfort; afterall, he was known for his ability to cope, even if he wasn’t so stable on the inside. 

But Stephen had stayed. Tony couldn’t even pretend to be annoyed. He enjoyed his company. They had been talking quite regularly in between Tony leaving the house to join the press or go out for food, small-talking and sharing a quick joke, but they by all means hadn’t become even close acquaintances. Tony didn’t have a single logical reason for feeling so comfortable around him, but he did. 

So of course, when he felt the slow, familiar crawl of anxiety burning his chest and creeping up his throat, he called Stephen. 

Tony couldn’t help but be the least bit surprised when he actually showed up, though.

Taking in a deep breath and flashing him a tired smile, Tony pushed all of his personal problems down to somewhere he could deal with them on a later date. “Hey, Stephen.” For right now, being with Stephen could be okay. He would deal with… everything else some other time.

“...Hey, Anthony.” Tony couldn’t help but feel his heart skip a beat at the sound of his full name. “May I…?”

“Oh,” he cleared his throat and stepped to the side. “Of course. Come on in.” Only after letting Stephen past and closing the door behind him did he realize this was the first time he hadn’t simply used a portal to invite himself inside. “Someone’s feeling polite this evening,” he mumbled quietly.

“I didn’t want to alarm you,” Stephen replied, immediately knowing what Tony was referring to--the doctor was surprisingly good at that. “I know you’re already on edge.”

Walking over to the kitchen counter where the two of them had last talked, Tony took a seat on a stool. “Yeah.” He could feel the soft, numbing squeeze of three glasses of wine swirling around inside of him, hoping that it wouldn’t be enough to cloud his judgement; he had already made enough of a fool of himself tonight. “...Sorry,” he apologized again. “Been feeling a little off, lately.”

“We all have,” Stephen consoled, taking a seat on the stool to Tony’s right. “What Thanos did was so much bigger than us. He attacked on such a larger scale than anyone was prepared for. I understand being overwhelmed.” 

“You seem to be just fine.”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

Tony paused. He never really considered the fact that maybe Stephen felt comfortable around Tony like he did around Stephen. “I don’t know, I thought this was more of a pity case than anything.”

“I don’t pity you, Tony. I just get where you’re coming from.” He took a moment to consider his continuation. “When I first transitioned into the Kamar-Taj lifestyle, it was an… interesting experience. I went from living a normal life in a house with a girlfriend--” Tony didn’t know he had a girlfriend, “--being nothing but a boyfriend and a doctor, to calling myself a hero; fighting intergalactic wars, looking at the future, teleporting, manipulating time. It was a huge wake-up call as to how much bigger the universe is than I thought it was.” Tony nodded thoughtfully, patiently waiting for him to continue. “But that’s the thing about the universe, Tony: it never stops growing--no matter how many powers you obtain or knowledge you grasp, you will never know the extent of the it. It will always end up surprising you.” Stephen paused again, glancing over at Tony before looking down at his hands. “Even the great Tony Stark is bound to get a little overwhelmed, sometimes.”

For a long while, it was silent. Tony deeply sat on Stephen’s words until minutes later he let out a simple, “thanks” at the same time Stephen vocalized an apology. Tony gave him a surprised look that prompted him to continue.

“I’m sorry,” Stephen repeated in a low, raspy tone. 

“...You don’t--”

“Yes, I do,” he sternly interrupted. “You’re in a vulnerable place. You have a lot going on and it’s not fair of me to take advantage of that. I’m not… saying you aren’t capable of making the right decisions, but maybe with everything going on…” He trailed off, his words dying out as his eyes fell to the floor. He looked up as he continued, unable to decipher the expression Tony was wearing. “I think we’re both making some erratic choices. I--We hardly know each other. I should have waited before…” Stephen let out a breath, heat reluctantly creeping onto his cheeks. “What I did at your house was very selfish of me.”

Sucking in a small breath through his nose, Tony’s mouth twisted. 

“...Tony, if you--”

“Wait,” Tony sofly demanded, making Stephen quickly cut his sentence short. “Just. Just let me think for sec, doc.”

As Tony closed his eyes, softly glaring as he concentrated, Stephen couldn’t help but slowly look him over. He really did look like a mess; his usual professional demeanor nowhere to be found. It was actually quite weird seeing him in nothing but sweatpants and a thin short sleeve that did nothing to hide the soft glow of the arc-reactor beneath its surface. Since Stephen had first met Tony at what was supposed to be the end of the world, he couldn’t deny his curiosity towards Tony’s chest. It was mildly embarrassing how often Stephen thought about gently peeling back the fabric of Tony’s shirt and getting a close look at the device that saved his life, studying the contraption and running his fingers over it’s metal frame. 

Stephen shook his head, mentally scolding himself for yet again getting lost in another day-dream. 

Before Tony had the chance to speak, there was a soft knocking on the front door that grabbed both of their attention. Neither of them moved, waiting for any follow up knocks or clues as to who else would want to bother Tony Stark so late at night, but they didn’t have to do much guessing before a familiar female voice shouted, “Tony?” Stephen could feel something terrible settle in his stomach as the unmistakable voice of Pepper Potts rang throughout the large house. “Tony? Are… Are you awake? ...Please, I--I get if you don’t want to talk, but I was in the neighborhood and… and that’s a lie. God. I just. I want to talk, please.”

For a moment, there was silence. Stephen slowly looked back to see a terrified look on Tony’s face.

“You, ah…” Stephen cleared his throat. “I get if you don’t want to answer. After she--”

“She didn’t do anything,” Tony whispered, softly swearing. Stephen shot him a weird look, prompting him to continue. “I… god damn it. I was waiting to talk to you about… I kind of…”

“She… You told me she left. I don’t know why she’s back, but it might lead to getting yourself hurt again.”

“...Fuck.” There was another pause before Tony got up, shuffling towards the door. Stephen followed at a safe distance, anxiously watching as he opened the front door and revealed Pepper, her face and demeanor calm, but her puffy eyes portraying otherwise. As they greeted each other, Stephen suddenly felt _wrong_. He thought, if anything, he would be mad at Pepper, but suddenly he didn’t feel welcome here. Everything he had done, everything he thought about Tony seemed childish and out of place. In front of him was the woman who had been with Tony for years--who was he compared to that?

What was he thinking coming here…?

After they said their hellos, Pepper’s eyes trailed back to Stephen before she could rush into explaining her arrival. She gave him a peculiar look, but quickly recovered. “Hello, uh, Dr. Strange. I don’t believe we’ve, uh--” she cleared her throat, “properly met.”

“We don’t…” Stephen’s eyes conveyed over to Tony for a brief moment. “I was just leaving.”

“No, hey,” Tony said softy enough that he was practically mouthing the words rather than speaking them. “Please stay.”

There was another long silence full of Pepper’s eyes shooting back and forth between the two men before Stephen swallowed whatever objections were brewing in his mind and stepped forward, holding out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Ms. Potts.” Stephen surprised himself by keeping his voice calm due to the amount of anxiety brewing in his throat. 

Pepper politely took his hand and gave him a single, sturdy shake before shooting Tony a questioning look. “I’m sorry,” Tony repented in reply to her silent demand for answers. “There’s… kind of a lot going on right now.”

“I can see that--is this, like… an Avengers thing?” She lowered her voice at the end as if there might be prying ears. 

Tony shook his head. “No. No, it’s uh… sorry. I’m sorry--can I--I think I need to talk with Stephen for a sec, is that okay…?”

Pepper quickly nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, of course. Should I wait outside?”

“Don’t be crazy,” Tony softly chuckled, a small sideways smile forming on his lips. “Come in, it’s freezing. We’ll talk, uh… We’ll be in the kitchen, so--”

“I’ll take the living room,” she nodded, already walking out of the room. 

Tony simply flashed her another quick smile, his face slowly falling as soon as she was out of sight. Stephen followed him back to the kitchen, remaining standing even after Tony took a seat on a kitchen stool. 

“I shouldn’t be here,” Stephen suddenly blurted out, making Tony look up. “I’m sure you two will talk and make up. You were good together. I can’t ruin that for you.”

“I lied.”

“...What?”

“I lied. On the phone,” Tony talked quietly, his eyes staring at the path leading to the front door. 

“...Are you still together?”

“No, no, we broke up,” Tony quickly shut that idea down. “But… I broke up with her.”

...Okay, for once, Stephen didn’t see something coming.

“Why… I don’t understand.”

“I didn’t…” Tony let out a sigh, pressing his palms against his eyes. “I didn’t… I was going to tell you, but I thought I could wait…”

“Tony--”

“I didn’t want you to think that you ruined our relationship,” he forced out, an audible shake in his voice. “A-After we came back from Titan, after everything… she-she was just glad I was alive. Sure, she was mad that I left, but I saved the world and came back m-mostly unharmed; I didn’t lie about there being friction, that part was true. For the first few months, things were quiet. Then we decided that she would stay somewhere else, she needed space--nothing we hadn’t done before. I had a lot of time to think about things and…” Tony let out a small laugh, hanging his head further down. “At the end of the day, I’m a hero. I’m never going to not try to save the world if I need to. Pepper wants me to live a normal life with her, but that will n-never happen.” Stephen slowly took a seat next to Tony on a nearby stool as he spoke. “I had a dream that we had a kid, and I thought maybe that would be the answer to me giving up this life, but… but I don’t want that. I-I’m not happy being normal and I don’t know why, because I thought that was all I ever wanted.”

“...I’m sure you can make it work...I--”

“We want completely different things,” he interrupted. “I’m never going to stop with the whole ‘saving the universe’ thing. All I’ll do is keep hurting her. There’s always going to be another Thanos, and if this is what happens every time I try to…” He trailed off, running a hand through his tangled hair. “I can’t keep doing that to her. It wasn’t just this, but it was the suits and the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. and Ultron--” Stephen recognized names from tabloids in magazines he used to browse during breaks at the hospital, but nothing beyond general, public knowledge. “--and I… I want that. I-I don’t know if it’s selfish, but all I want to do is save the world. I don’t want to settle down and have kids and go to brunch with Pepper’s friends every Sunday and have neighbors we visit because they gave us cookies the other day…” Tony and Stephen shared a quick, solemn smirk. “I want action. I want the suits. I want to save the universe. I… I want someone who not only will let me do that, but fight alongside me.”

“...Tony, we both really only barely know each other and you still love Pepper, don’t you? Even if you don’t want the same things.”

Tony thought on that for a long time. “Of course I do,” he stated finally. “I’ll always love Pepper, but I think I stopped being _in_ love with her a long time ago. You could hardly even say we were together, these past years. We’ve taken so many breaks.”

Still wanting to make excuses, Stephen simply nodded to keep himself from speaking. In first nature, he was tempted to find faults in Tony’s reasoning, but thinking back to his relationship with Christine, he understood where he was coming from. After Stephen made mistake after mistake, they took time apart. Somewhere in the midst of Christine living somewhere else and Stephen off being tutored by the Ancient One, the fire that burned for her in his heart had been put out. He too realized that what they wanted from the world was so much different that being together was no longer a possibility. Of course he cared for her, he would still protect her with his life, but he no longer desired being any sort of lover to her. 

After considering this, Stephen swallowed. “...So. Pepper doesn’t… know any of this.”

“...No,” Tony’s expression twisted into something uncomfortable. “I uh… I actually broke it off with her the day after you, uh… we talked--after we talked. Before, it seemed like our relationship was something I could hold off, not staying together but not really breaking up… but even with that mentality, being with you and not telling her…”

Stephen rest a hand on his shoulder. “I get it.” There was a pause. “But I’m still sorry.”

“For what?”

“It’s not like I knew you weren’t really together, anymore,” Stephen lightly squeezed where he gripped Tony’s shoulder. “Despite thinking you were, I made a move.”

“It’s okay,” Tony shrugged. “Really, it is. We both made a lot of mistakes.” He smirked, playfully nudging Stephen’s shoulder. “Just don’t pull that shit with me, alright?”

Stephen couldn’t help but smile back. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” He paused. “So. Why is Pepper here then? If you two really broke up?”

“I don’t know,” Tony sighed as Stephen ran his hand down Tony’s arm before letting it fall back to his side. “We haven’t really talked in a few weeks.”

“Did you want to tell her about us?”

“No. No, not yet.” Tony considered this. “There’s… a possibility she does want to talk about getting back together. Like I said, we’ve done this… a lot. We take breaks. So it’s going to be difficult for… for both of us. When it really ends.” Stephen nodded thoughtfully. “But I will have to talk to her.”

“Do you want me to come with?”

“No, I’d better do it alone.”

“Okay.”

There were a few beats of silence before Stephen placed his hand back on Tony’s shoulder. “Neither of us make anything easy, do we?”

Tony smiled. “Makes things exciting.”

“It sure does.” Stephen said softly. After a few moments of looking him over, Stephen gently leaned down and pressed his lips against Tony's rough cheek. “Good luck, okay?” 

Tony smirked, his eyes averted to the side. “Thanks.” Nodding, he reluctantly backed away from Stephen and trudged into the other room. A sadder, less enthusiastic smile formed on his lips when he laid eyes on Pepper. “Hey,” he greeted softly, making her look up.

She smiled up at him from where she sat on one of the living room couches, apologies already shining from the back of her eyes. “Hey, Tony.” He could feel something awful settle in his gut at the same hopeful, repenting expression she wore on her rosy face. She had no idea that this wasn’t the usual drill, and something about that made Tony feel worse as he took a seat beside her.

He gently reached over, taking her hand in his. “We uh… we need to talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanna see Ironstrange ART in addition to my stories? Visit my [Tumblr!](https://www.angstflavoured.tumblr.com) Feel free to hmu anytime, I'll be happy to talk :')


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